Written by: Shay Coulson
Walmart Heirs To Launch New Music, Art & Technology Festival, Format Festival
Everyone wants to throw a music festival nowadays. Even Walmart. Yes, you read that correctly. Several family members behind retailing giant Walmart Inc. are helping to launch a new music and art festival in the corporation’s hometown of Bentonville, AK in hopes to turn the city into a cultural destination.
Inspired by Texas’ Austin City Limits, the new festival, billed Format Festival, is centered around music, art, and technology and will take place September 23rd-25th on 250 acres of private land in the heart of the Ozarks, just six minutes outside of Bentonville’s center. The festival is described as a “micro-universe of interactive exploration with a traditional main and side stage designed to fully integrate art on every level from talented artists across all forms and mediums, creating a space for artistic risk and sensorial experience.”
The inaugural Format Festival will feature a diverse lineup of over 80 live musical performances over its inaugural weekend, including RÜFÜS DU SOL, Phoenix, Khruangbin, Beach House, The War On Drugs, Nile Rodgers & Chic, The Flaming Lips, Jungle, Herbie Hancock, The Marias, Thundercat, Fatboy Slim, Leftover Salmon, Chali 2na & Cut Chemist, and many more. Scroll down to see the full artist lineup.
Format Festival 2022
[Video: Format Festival]
Format Festival will also offer hidden forest enclaves, an open-air pavilion, a converted disco barn, and a multi-room speakeasy. Additionally, the festival will feature over two dozen art installations, interactive sculptures, cross-disciplinary performances, and integrated technology from some of the world’s top-tier artists, including Doug Aitken, Nick Cave, Marinella Senatore, John Gerrard x Plastikman, Jacolby Satterwhite x Performa, Pia Camil, and more.
“Format represents a new type of festival, placing visual and performing arts on the same plane as live music, creating a fluid and unified experience,” said Elizabeth Edelman, Mafalda Millies, and Roya Sachs, co-founders of Triadic and creators of Format. “Visitors will encounter large-scale installation art and unconventional venues created by a range of internationally recognized artists, alongside an eclectic roster of musical acts.”
Additionally, attendees will be able to choose from a variety of exclusive and intimate camping experiences, from furnished bell tents to lower-tiered ready-made tent packages. Whilst onsite lodging is limited, the area boasts a wide range of cozy bed & breakfasts, local hotels and charming Airbnbs, serviced with easily accessible festival shuttles to and from neighboring town squares. Click here for a full list of accommodation options.
Tickets to Format Festival go on sale to the general public on Friday at 9 a.m. MT here. Fans can sign up for a pre-sale by registering via SMS on the festival’s website.